Meaning & use
bled
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“bled” is a form of “bleed”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
Lost blood from a wound or injury (past tense of 'bleed').
Grammar: No object: the person or body part is the subject, as in 'His nose bled'.
Patterns
- someone bled from something
- something bled
- bled heavily
He cut his hand and bled all over the towel.
Her knee bled a little after the fall.
The soldier bled heavily before help arrived.
verbtransitive or intransitivetechnical
Let blood flow out of something, such as a pipe or a brake system (past tense of 'bleed').
Grammar: Can take an object (bled the radiator) or stand alone (the pipe bled slowly).
Patterns
- bleed something
- something bled
We bled the radiators to get the air out.
The mechanic bled the brakes before the race.
verbtransitivefigurative
Took a lot of money or resources from someone gradually (past tense of 'bleed', figurative).
Grammar: Takes an object, often a person or company: the repairs bled us dry.
Patterns
- bleed someone dry
- something bled someone
The endless repairs bled us dry.
High fees bled the small business for years.
Word forms
| base form | bleed |
|---|---|
| third person singular | bleeds |
| past tense | bled |
| past participle | bled |
| -ing form | bleeding |
Common combinations
- bled to death
- Without quick treatment, he could have bled to death.
- bled heavily
- The wound bled heavily and soaked the bandage.
- bled dry
- The project bled the company dry.
- nose bled
- His nose bled for ten minutes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hemorrhaged
- A medical term for serious bleeding; much more technical and usually about heavy internal or sudden blood loss.
- oozed
- Means liquid came out slowly; 'bled' suggests a stronger, more continuous flow of blood.
Word family
Commonly confused: bled or bleed? bled or bled?
bled vs bleed
'Bleed' is the present form and rhymes with 'need'; 'bled' is the past form and rhymes with 'bed'.
bled vs bled
Not to be confused with 'bled' in sports writing, where a player 'bled' means a team color showed through, but the core meaning is still past of 'bleed'.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
'Bled' is the past tense of 'bleed', so 'his finger bled a lot' is correct. 'Bleed' is present, 'bleeded' is not a real form, and the passive 'was bled' wrongly suggests someone else made it bleed.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bled”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.